The Christian belief in the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, following his crucifixion at the hands of the prefect of Judaea, Pontius Pilate, gradually made its way through the ancient Mediterranean world. But it fell on fertile ground. One of the primary contentions in my recent book on the topic (Empty Tomb, Resurrection, Apotheosis) is that the Christians’ proclamation of a crucified Lord found fertile ground among Mediterranean people who had long been familiar with some form of the concept of the resurrection of a body.For more on Professor Cook's recent book, see here. And for more on his other work, see here, here, and here.
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For a couple of books by Jan A. Sigvartsen on related matters, see here.
And for a related essay by Devorah Dimant, along with some of my own — I think original — thoughts on the early history of the idea of resurrection, see my post Resurrection in the Book of Ezekiel (and in Ugaritic) from a couple of years ago.
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